"How does one collect love, rage, hatred, fear, jealousy, irrationality, or other intangibles? Clues left at a crime scene may be of inestimable value in leading to the solution of a crime; however, they are not necessarily items of physical evidence, per se". James T. Reese
"What are you doing over there, Stu?" Bonnie asked when she saw her husband standing in the hallway near the guest room door, twitching his ears with concentration. Stu winced and turned around to his wife.
"Nothing, my dear!" he offered with a wide and innocent smile, but Bonnie shook her head disappointed.
"You are not even five minutes back in the house and you are already spying on your daughter?"
"Not spying, hon!" Stu raised his paws in defense and smiled awry. "Just… making sure everything is okay".
"She is a grown-up, let her have some privacy with her boyfriend". Stu winced again at that word and Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Better get accustomed to this word, who know when it will be replaced by fiancé". She walked back to the kitchen while talking and couldn't see the look on Stu's face. He hurried after her, hugged her and gave her a kiss.
"You are right, Bon". Stu smiled softly, but his nose twitched a bit. "Did everything go well when they arrived?"
"Yes, he was really nice". Bonnie replied his smile and stirred some vegetable stew. "I admit that it was a bit awkward at first, I did not know what to say. But he did not seem to have any reservations and everything went all right". She appeared assuaged and patted her husband's arm. "You will meet him at dinner, my dear".
"Well, I'd better start laying the table then". Stu gave his wife a quick kiss and hurried to the cupboard.
"Evelin asked that we also use the smaller dining room, so we can sit together with Nick and Judy and only a few of the other siblings he already knows. She feared it could be too much on the first day with all of the family eating together", She smiled. "I think that is a good idea, Eve really thinks about everything".
"Hmmm, well, okay. If you think so." Stu agreed with some hesitation and picked up the dinnerware. "Miriam, Rodney, Mike, can you help me lay the tables, please?" he shouted and shortly after three pairs of feet hopped down the hallway.
Nick lay on his back on the bed with his shirt opened. Judy sat on his lap and her paws ran over the bandage that covered his wound. She sighed and laid herself beside him, her arm around his torso, and rubbed her chin over his chest. Nick smelled her scent left on his fur, tickled her head around the ears and closed his eyes.
"Nick?" Judy spoke quietly.
"Mh?"
"Can we talk about something?"
"Of course, what is on your mind, carrots?"
Judy thought for a moment, then began: "I want to confess something to you, but…" she was interrupted by someone knocking on the door. "Cheese and carrots!" she murmured, then loudly said "Come in!" While she straightened up on the bed.
Evelin put her head through the door and grinned when she saw them both lying on the bed. "Are you ready for the short tour, Nick?" The fox hesitated and looked to Judy, who just waved aside.
"It's okay, I will unpack our backpack in the meantime. We can talk later". She smiled and Nick gave her a kiss, just long enough for her to be sorry that her sister was waiting at the door. Nick got up from the bed, hobbled to the desk that his crutches were leaning against, and walked with them to Evelin.
"If she doesn't bring me back in half an hour, send a search party after us". He winked, but then said somewhat more serious: "I love you, Judy. See you later".
"See ya'!" she smiled softly and then opened their backpack while Evelin supported Nick on his right side and walked away. Their talk would have to wait for a while then.
"Most of our smaller bedrooms are belowground, the burrow is about 30-meters-deep with about 40 rooms on each of the three floors. Our smallest siblings live with four rabbits in one room, and when they get older we reduce it to two or three in one room. Only a few of us adults have their own room". They walked past a few doors and two stairs going down. "Here on the ground floor are all of the common rooms like the kitchens, dining rooms or the living rooms with TV's or large tables; the guest room and Mom and Dad's bedroom are also on this floor. And here…" she opened the door at the end of the hallway "…is one of our bigger bathrooms with a shower and a bathtub. Most other bathrooms on the floors below only have a shower".
"Wow", Nick was visibly impressed. "This really is a monstrous structure".
"Oh, I didn't tell you half of it", Evelin winked. "On the lowermost floor we have a lot of storage rooms with enough food to feed the whole burrow for at least a few months. We also have access to a groundwater depot there. On the second floor below we also have a steam sauna beside the lodgings, and on the first floor are also some studios and a workshop for different professions, like a tailoring studio or a music room with a few instruments".
"You're kidding me?"
Evelin laughed enjoying herself, Nick really looked puzzled about their burrow. "No kidding, we have our own small town below Bunnyburrow, and not all of us follow in our parents' footsteps in farming".
"That is really impressive!"
"Yepp. Come on, I will show you our main living room. Mom and Dad sit there in the evening most of the time, together with most adult children". They walked around a few corners and through two doors. In a few places it was difficult for Nick to edge through the rabbit sized corridors, even more so with his crutches. But they finally stood in a really big room with a dozen couches and armchairs, two chimneys and a few wooden tables. Along the walls were shelves with books, a big TV, audio equipment and sideboards with board games. There was also a lot of photos of the whole family around the wall, like one really big family tree all together with partners and grandchildren; only letting someone adumbrate what the wallpaper of the room is.
A few younger bunnies were playing cards in one corner of the room and only looked up briefly, waving to Nick and Evelin, when they entered the room. Nick became wide-eyed, letting his looks wander around.
"This is…" he started and Evelin continued.
"Amazing?"
"More or less", Nick nodded slowly and searched for Judy on the wall. Evelin seemed to have guessed what he was looking for, hopped over to the first chimney and pointed to a picture of Judy after finishing school and grinned.
"I could imagine it's like looking for a needle in a haystack of strangers".
Nick scratched his right paw behind his head and smiled. "Let me say, I find it rather difficult to distinguish between all of you, in particular when there are hundreds of photos, and you really know the name of each and every one of them?" Nick said disbelievingly.
"Oh, of course! These are Lisa, Sarah, Laura, Fabian, Jonas, Caroline, Sven, Nina, Julian, Natalie…" Nick rolled his eyes, put his arms up in defense, and Evelin started to laugh. After looking for a while at all the pictures Nick asked:
"Do you have a photo book with their names written below?"
Evelin tilted her head inquiringly. "You really want to learn all those names? There are over three hundred of them, you know that? Not counting all the grandchildren that is!"
The fox shrugged and took a seat in one of the armchairs. "The least I can do is try to learn as many of them as I can. It is Judy's family, and how can I start to be a part of it when I've not even tried to learn your names". Nick looked serious about this and Evelin noticed how he silently repeated the names she had already told him while memorizing the corresponding photo. Now she really understood what Judy values about him, and a smile was on her face.
"I will see to it that I make a photo book ready for you, Nick".
"That would be great, thank you very much Eve!" then after a quick thought: "But don't tell Judy about it, I want to surprise her", he winked and Evelin nodded smiling.
"That is a great idea, she will certainly appreciate it, I'm sure".
"Appreciate what?" Judy walked into the living room with an inquiring look on her face.
"When Nick is resting, so you two can live it up later in your room", Evelin slyly grinned.
"Ha. Ha". Judy answered but her ears were getting slightly darker from the blood. "And, how was sightseeing?" she addressed Nick while sitting on the arm rest of his chair.
"This isn't a house, it's a town of its own!" Nick's admiration was clearly audible and Judy smiled.
"It's just a burrow".
"Well, it is the first one I've seen from the inside, and even after visiting only a small part of it, I think it's gigantic!"
Evelin snickered and nudged Judy with her hip. "Do you remember? When we played hide and seek as kits?" Then she turned to Nick. "Judy always wanted to count and search for us, disguised as a cop, and acted like she was trying to find criminals".
Judy smiled softly. "Yeah, catching criminals was fun back then". Nick shared a quick look with Evelin, who understood and made a quick excuse: "I have to help Mom with dinner, you'll see us at six!"
When Evelin was gone, Nick put his arm around Judy and pulled her onto his lap. "Hey, carrots. What's the matter? You seem to be quiet distracted lately". He put his snout between her ears and lost in thought he left his scent on her. The rabbit sighed and put her arms around him, hugging him firmly.
"I can't get this zooicide case out of my head. There is some quite strange evidence, but I have no idea where it all leads, and the alleged criminal, a wolf, is sitting in jail and I'm unsure if he is really guilty".
"Then maybe you should share the details with your partner. Perhaps he has an idea or two on how to proceed", Nick smiled and gave her a soft kiss.
"You should not rush things and…"
"…take it easy, I know carrots!" Nick sighed with a smile and put a paw on her arm. "I only have a casted leg and arm; my brain is as healthy as always and a case to ponder about would be a welcome distraction".
Judy thought about it for a while and tickled through Nick's chest fur. "When I get the reports from the forensic lab and the forensic medicine we can browse through the case file together, okay?" she finally suggested, and Nick nodded. "Great idea. But for today you have to stop thinking about it then, deal?"
Judy smiled at him and gave him a short kiss on his lips: "Deal". Then she huddled against him, stroking his arm with her paw.
"By the way, what did you want to talk about earlier?" Nick looked inquiringly, but Judy shook her head.
"Not here, let's talk about it in private".
The fox was a little anxious, Judy had been behaving differently since they were back in her parents' house, and wanted to talk about something she wanted to confess to him? And only in private? His thoughts were tumbling until Judy put her paw onto his and squeezed it a bit, looking up at him.
"It's nothing serious, you don't have to worry". Judy tried to put his mind at ease, but it only worked a wee bit. Nick was sure that something was bothering Judy, and he was also quite sure that it wasn't the case as she had said. But at the moment he could do nothing but wait for her to open up.
For the evening meal, Nick and Judy sat with her parents, Evelin and Ralph in the small dining room. Nick was apologizing for the third time that they did not have to lay a separate table only for him, and he didn't want to create any circumstances. Bonnie waved his protest aside.
"One bunny at a time, honey. You have to accustom yourself to such a big family first, it would be a little overwhelming on your first evening, and it's really no task, Evelin and Ralph laid the table really quickly".
"Six place settings are nothing when you are used to forty times that many", Ralph laughed and passed the small basket with fresh bread to Judy.
"I heard Stephanie cancelled her holiday trip to Nageria!" Evelin started to talk and her Mom nodded.
"Yes, her husband was at the market stand today and told Miriam about it". Then she addressed Nick: "Stephanie is also one of our children, but she left the burrow after her wedding last year". She patted Stu's back, who had choked on something and coughed.
"Did he tell her why? As far as I know she was really eager to make this trip". Judy asked while passing the plate with vegetable wraps to Nick.
"Yes, she is pregnant again! Isn't that great news?" Bonnie beamed and now it was Judy's turn to cough.
"It's her third litter, isn't it?" Evelin asked, and her mother nodded.
"Yes, and the first two were rather big, each with ten kits!"
Nick dropped his fork by accident and murmured a quiet excuse, but Ralph caught his gaze and smirked: "I believe our guest is wondering, how many litters and kits there are in an average rabbit family". He winked at Nick whose ears drooped, but Bonnie answered eagerly.
"Oh, that really depends on environment, Nick. Most families try to not exceed one or perhaps two litters a year. But also the size of a litter varies, some rare litters only have one or two kits. But the average is four to six; and sometimes even more than a dozen. But that's very rare". Nick and Judy were staring at their plate and chewing slowly on their vegetable wraps. But of course, her mother could make things more awkward.
"We, for example, currently have 47 litters, right Stu?" She looked to her husband who was normally really proud of their family size.
"Yeah, I guess..." he twitched with a napkin and sounded uneasy at the moment. But of course a mother knows how to make things even more awkward than that, and Bonnie was no exception.
"Are you planning on having some kits, too?" she addressed Nick and Judy with an innocent look.
"Mom!" Judy exclaimed and this time her ears appeared soft red because of embarrassment. Nick and Stu started coughing heavily at the same time and even the white spots in Nick's ears got a pink touch. Evelin and Ralph looked at each other and could barely hold their laughter. Only Bonnie looked perplexed.
"Did I say something funny?" she raised her eyebrows.
"Everything's fine, Mom…" Evelin was snorting with laughter and already had tears in her eyes.
"Then why are you all acting so funny? At least it's the first time she's brought a b…"
"MOM!" Judy shouted and the panic in her voice was not missed by anyone at the table. Evelin and Ralph totally lost it and leaned on each other to not fall off their chairs while laughing. Stu leapt up from his chair, nearly knocking over his plate.
"I'll get the dessert!" he murmured and vanished through the door. Judy just wished the earth would swallow her up; she delved her head into her folded arms on the table. Nick sat still on his chair and stared blankly at his plate.
"Oh come on, we are all adults!" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You are acting childish, Judy. And you two are not any better!" she added with a look to Evelin and Ralph who were still giggling.
"Anybody hungry for some strawberry cake?" Stu entered the room again with a big baking tray.
"Here!" Judy and Nick called relieved like from one mouth.
During the dessert they didn't talk a lot except for compliments for Bonnie and her great baking skills. As it transpired, Nick was also a big fan of the Hopps' strawberries and he ate three pieces of cake to emphasize this fact. Judy only ate half a piece; she wasn't really that hungry and Nick was pleased to take care of the other half. When everybody finished their plates Evelin wanted to get up to clear the table, but Nick asked her to sit down again. All looks were suddenly focused on him, and the fox felt a bit queasy again. Judy smiled and supported him.
"We have brought you a small present, nothing fancy". She addressed her parents and her voice was a bit higher than usual. Nick grabbed for the paper bag that stood between his legs. When he took out the first present, the nicely packed frame with the photo of Judy after the race, his paws were a bit shaky. He handed it over to Stu and while he was curiously unpacking it, all other rabbits beside Judy were standing around him, looking over his shoulder.
"Oh! Jude the dude! That is a really great photo! Bonnie, look at her! Isn't she a born star?" Stu was beaming with pride, even more so when he saw the medal. "Oh, but honey! You earned this medal, you don't have to put it inside the frame for us!"
Judy smiled and put her arm around Nick's. "I still have my medal, it's Nick's copy, he made this for you two!" She looked up to her fox and smiled proudly; Stu stared at them.
"Really! That's … that's …" he looked seeking help from his wife.
"That's a wonderful idea, thank you so much Nick!" Bonnie completed her husband's sentence, who nodded keenly.
"Absolutely! Thank you!" Stu was the first to get off his chair, then Bonnie. They both hugged Nick who was smiling relieved.
"I thought what the most beautiful present would be. And then I thought: What could be more beautiful than Judy and her fist pump after winning the race". His voice was also a little too high, but he smiled pleased.
"It's not Judy winning, it's Judy being happy! And winning makes her happy". Stu snickered and Bonnie nodded smiling.
"Stu is right, to know that Judy is happy is the most important thing for us". She beamed and looked moony at her daughter.
Evelin and Ralph just grinned from ear-to-ear, looking at Judy who was nearly as embarrassed as she was a short time ago. Nick poked his rabbit with his elbow, he thought it would be better if she handed the other picture over to her parents. She looked up at him and his pleading look made a dent. She took the paper bag and pulled out the second, unpacked frame with the back facing her parents.
"Actually, we have another one for you". She began and her paws were lightly shaking; when Nick noticed it, he put his paw on one side of the frame and assured her with a look full of affection. She nodded slightly and handed the frame, photo facing up, to her mother.
Silence. Twenty-One. Twenty-Two. Twenty-Three. Twenty-Four. Twenty-Five. Judy and Nick held their breath for just a few seconds, but it felt like minutes.
Finally, her mother broke the silence: "Oh, honey!" her mother's voice was all emotional and even Stu looked happy and put his paw on Bonnie's shoulder. "This photo is the most beautiful picture I've ever saw of you!" she tried to suppress a sob.
"Yes, it is indeed!" Stu added no less emotional. "I never saw my little princess happier than in this photo. Thank you!" and with these words he hugged Nick firmly; Bonnie nodded in the background and twitched with a handkerchief.
They sat together at the dining table until nearly 11 o'clock at night. Evelin shooed her parents, Nick and Judy away as she and Ralph cleaned everything up. The two older rabbits quickly disappeared into their own bedroom after wishing everyone a good night.
Nick was lying on the bed when Judy entered their guest room after a short shower. She had a large towel around her body and looked as tired and relieved as he did.
"It all went better than expected, didn't it?" he asked with a soft smile, and Judy threw herself onto the bed beside him.
"Yepp. Definitely better than expected". She smiled, too, and turned her head to him; their nose tips touched and both snickered quietly. They lay there in silence for nearly ten minutes, just looking into each other's eyes.
"Nick?" Judy asked finally and broke the magical mood.
"Mh?"
"I wanted to confess something to you…" Nick didn't reply but looked affectionately into her eyes. Judy sighed: "But I don't dare". She nibbled on her bottom lip and looked a bit worried.
"Judy". Nick aspirated her name with a smile, and a shiver ran down her spine. "I just survived my first dinner with your parents in a burrow, and I'm still with you. Nothing you could say would change my feelings for you". He kissed her slowly and softly on her lips and Judy sighed smiling.
"I was always so fixated on becoming a police officer". She started, but then hesitated. Nick wanted to reply something, but sensed it would be better to let her just talk for the time being. After a few moments she continued. "All my brothers and sisters were going to parties and having so much fun, but I just worked to earn some money and studied for my biggest goal". Nick assured her by caressing her head and ears with his paw. "Now that I reached my goal, my priorities shifted and… I have the feeling that I missed so much and really am just a dumb rabbit in so many ways".
"You are not a dumb rabbit", Nick said with a smile. Judy sighed again.
"Yes, I am. You are…" she swallowed, but decided it was finally time to confess this part of her to Nick. "I've never had a boyfriend before you, Nick". She looked as if she had just announced the death of a near relative and her whole body was shaking slightly. Nick looked somewhat surprised; he had never thought about those things. He loved Judy the way she was, why would something so trivial matter by any means?
"Hey…" he put his paw below her chin and lifted it to meet her gaze. "I don't know how I, out of all other mammals earned your love, but I'm honored." Nicks' voice was gentle and Judy sobbed quietly.
"You are not disappointed? For a rabbit this is really odd and unusual, you know".
He smiled and leaned in to kiss her. "Well, I'm obviously no rabbit. Why should I be disappointed when you are the best thing that's happened to me in my whole life? Don't ever think about it this way again". Judy laughed sobbing and hugged him firmly; Nick could hardly breath but it didn't matter in this moment and he returned her hug.
The next morning Judy woke up, had a stretch and gazed directly into Nick's eyes.
"Huh! Since when are you awake even before me?" Judy seemed puzzled and searched for her phone to take a look at the clock. Nick grabbed her paws and gave them a kiss.
"It's quarter past eight, carrots".
Judy's eyes grew wide with disbelief. "Why didn't you wake me up; I'm already late!" She jumped out of the bed but Nick smiled.
"You looked so cute while sleeping, I didn't want to wake you up".
Judy poked her tongue out at him and the fox laughed.
Half an hour later they sat in the smallest of the three kitchens, the one that had the malfunctioning oven the morning before. It was still big enough for at least a dozen rabbits to work at the same time, but currently only Evelin and Miriam were here, preparing the lunch packs for the market booth. On the table there was already a basket with gems and bread, plates with cheese and butter, marmalade, a cup of tea for Judy, and a cup of coffee for Nick.
"What is your schedule for today, sis?" Miriam asked looking at Judy, who was eating some bread with self-made marmalade.
"I will go to the police station and pick up some reports, then I wanted to work from home".
"This zooicide is really tragic, poor John. I think he will sell the carpentry shop, now that his father is dead". Evelin chatted but Miriam shook her head.
"I don't think that he is in mourning, he often argued with his father and they say the old Aaron Leep was a drunkard".
"Did you or any other one of us have close contact with the Leeps recently?" Judy asked, sipping on her cup of herbal tea.
"Not that I know of", Miriam replied and packed the lunches into a basket. "I will bring those into the truck". She walked with the lunch basket in her paws out of the kitchen.
"Did you find the source of the gunpowder scent, carrots?" Nick asked curiously.
"Nope, I did have another look at the workshop yesterday, but couldn't find anything. You are sure about the scent, aren't you?"
"That hurts me, carrots!" Nick put his right paw over his heart and pouted.
"Okay, okay. I just wanted to be sure". Judy winked, but Evelin turned around and asked surprised.
"What do you mean with gunpowder? I read in the newspaper that Aaron was stabbed?"
"Yes he was. But after I spent a few hours investigating the workshop, Nick could smell gunpowder on me. So it had to be in the air, even if I could not smell it", Judy stated while biting into her second slice of bread.
"You could really smell this?" Evelin looked at Nick impressed.
"Well, foxes have a very acute sense of smell, and gunpowder has a real tang", Nick replied with a smile. "It's also useful during an interrogation; with some exercise you can distinguish if a suspect is afraid or calm, and then deviate if he is lying or telling the truth. It's not a hundred percent accurate, but it's a useful utility".
"Wait a minute, you can really smell if someone is lying or not?" Evelin looked skeptical.
"This, and a lot more. But I usually try to suppress my sense of smell in large groups of animals, it's an extreme and uncomfortable mix of all different scents".
"Are you saying that we smell musty?" Evelin put her paws on her sides and stared icily at him. But Nick was used to her humor by now and slyly smiled.
"I'm saying that a few hundred rabbits in a burrow are odiferous for a fox. More than ever when at least half a dozen of them are currently in heat".
Judy, who already knew about Nick's olfactory skills, just smiled softly, but Evelin dropped her jaw wide open and gazed at Nick, then at Judy.
"Did you know that?"
"Of course, sis", Judy winked at her.
"That's incredible!" Evelin gasped.
"It's boon and bane", Nick smiled and sipped from his coffee, then he turned to Judy. "Don't forget, that we want to go through the case file together, carrots".
"You two are made for each other; obviously neither of you has ever heard of a thing called 'leisure time'", Evelin rolled her eyes. "Aren't you certified unfit for work, Nick?"
"I am, but just reading a few reports and looking at photos will not kill me".
"Give up, Eve, he is at least as stubborn as I am", Judy grinned and finished her breakfast. "Okay, I will take the truck and bring the lunch packages to the market booth on my way back". With these words she gave Nick a quick kiss and left the kitchen. A minute later the old truck was heard driving away and Nick finished his breakfast, too.
"Do you have any other secret skills I should know about?" Evelin asked while cleaning up the table.
"I can see in nearly complete darkness; does that count?"
"Hide and seek really isn't fun with you".
"Oh, I liked to play hide and seek, but not as seeker. I always preferred to hide", Nick smiled.
"Isn't that the classical role of the prey? I did not think that you are the subduing partner".
"Well, yeah I like to… wait, what?!" Nick looked dumbfounded and Evelin snorted, enjoying herself.
"Relax, Nick. I will not condemn you for anything", Evelin winked and Nick snuffled. "Oh, by the way…" she walked over to a sideboard and took a book out of the second drawer. "This is our latest photo book with all the names and how we are related. The pictures are about a year old, but this should give you a start". Evelin handed him the photo book and Nick browsed through it with a quick glance.
"Thank you, Eve". Then, after a short hesitation he said: "May I ask you a personal question?"
"Of course, I can always decide to not answer you", She winked with a sly grin, which Nick replied.
"Most of the older rabbits seemed to have started their own families. Why do you and Miriam for example still live at home?"
"We both have a boyfriend, my dear. Not all of us are starting our own burrow, but decide to stay with the family. At least until the wedding that is. If you meet a rabbit that is not living with their family, they're probably already married." Evelin smiled when she noticed Nick's look. "Judy is the big exception, no worries".
"Yeah, I guess so. The first rabbit at the force, and living alone in the big city…"
"…bringing a fox back home as her boyfriend." Evelin and Nick laughed at once. "Yes, that's our Judy, and that makes her very special for Mom and Dad. The rest of us are under their supervision most of the time, but not Judy".
"That's the reason they gave me a hard time?"
"That, and you being a fox instead of a rabbit." Eve winked, and when Nick's ears drooped she added quickly: "Don't worry, they are beginning to accustom themselves to you. There is only one main concern left as far as I know".
"And that is?" Nick asked curiously.
"They are really crazy about grandchildren…" Evelin answered with a grin, and when Nick choked on his coffee she nearly screamed with laughter.
Judy returned about an hour later and searched for Nick. She finally found him at the back of the house sitting on a wooden bench beneath a few trees, reading a book. When she approached him, he put it down and smiled.
"Hey, carrots".
"Hey, slacker".
"Pfft, don't forget that I'm seriously injured".
"So you are too sick to go over this case file with me?"
"Sly Bunny".
"Dumb fox", Judy grinned triumphantly. It was those little games between them, that mirrored the familiarity in their relationship. Some intimacy they could share in the open without anyone noticing and yet it gave them both a nice chill. Judy sat beside Nick and leaned her head against his arm. "How have you been getting along with everybody so far?"
"They are all really nice. I have to admit it feels somewhat awkward after our encounter last Saturday".
"That was mainly Joshua; he is a dork. Mom and Dad were just taken by surprise and then everything escalated disastrously", She sighed.
"It's not your fault, carrots". Nick put his snout on her head between her ears.
"I let it escalate, and without my fight with Josh you wouldn't be injured at all". Judy looked sadly at Nick's casts and swept her paw over them.
"I'm still alive, carrots, and I still love you. So everything is fine". Nick smiled, grabbed for his crutches and put the small book into his pocket. "Let's find us a room, work is always a good distraction for you".
They agreed with Bonnie Hopps to arrange themselves in the smallest living room and closed the door, so that someone wasn't lurking around every now and then. They scattered all the photos onto the table and Judy elucidated Nick all the details she had investigated. The report of the legal medicine clarified, that Aaron Leep died from exsanguination, induced by a stabbing wound into his abdomen. A few sketches exemplified that the wound channel went from above at an angle of 75 degrees. The weapon was a one-sided blade 26 millimeters in width and at least 168 millimeters in length. It broke through the abdominal wall, perforated the small intestine and the subclavian artery; the latter caused a rapid exsanguination and death within less than a minute. The blood alcohol concentration was rather high at 3.6 ‰ and they found Meloxicam, an analgesic, in a considerable quantity. In his fur, mainly his paws, was a black substance found that was sent to the forensic lab.
The reports from the forensic lab in Zootopia identified several types of wood for the slivers. The fiber that Judy found on the wooden fence wasn't a textile but cellulose with tracks of nitric acid, also known as nitrocellulose. It is highly flammable, but is hardly used anymore. Another substance she found was identified as vulcanized rubber. The black substance found in the fur of the victim was a mixture of Sulfur, Charcoal and Saltpeter, also known as Black Powder or Gunpowder. The last sample was a powder she found between those sketches and papers in the drawer of the workbench. It was a mixture of Sulphur, Sulphide of Antimony, Chlorate of Potash and Gum. The mixture had a resemblance to those used for friction matches and is also highly flammable.
"For a carpenter, this rabbit handled quite a lot of explosives", Nick said with a frown. "Maybe he was a bomber and he was killed for this reason".
"A bomber here in Bunnyburrow?" Judy sounded skeptical.
"Well, it would be a great camouflage, nobody would expect something like this".
"Maybe, but it still sounds very unlikely to me".
"Okay, but you said there was a long lasting conflict with his neighbor. Maybe he wanted to assault him or his bakery with a bomb, and Frank Tailor killed Aaron Leep in self-defense".
"And why did Frank Tailor not plead that he had to act in self-defense? No, that doesn't make any sense at all, Nick".
Nick browsed through the cluttered reports and picked up the one from the legal medicine, searching for the sketches the Coroner made. "The wound channel went from above at an angle of 75 degrees…" Nick voiced under his breath and seemed to be contemplative.
"What are you thinking?"
"This angle of seventy-five degrees is odd". He let his looks wander. "Do you have a ruler or a pencil or something similar?" Judy went to a sideboard and took out a paper knife.
"Something like this?" she asked with a smirk.
"Perfect! Okay, now pretend that you are stabbing me…"
"Only pretend?"
"Cheeky bunny…" Nick snorted and turned around facing Judy, so that she could put the stub paper knife on his shirt. "That would be more of a 105-degree angle".
"Yes, because I'm smaller than you. Let's switch roles!"
Nick looked at her with a seductive smile. "But we are still working, carrots!"
"I will get back to that offer at a later time", Judy winked and Nick took the paper knife with a wide grin. Then he pretended to stab her and considered the angle of the knife.
"That is approximately 75 degrees". He finally said, looking back at some other report papers.
"Well, then the results match the evidence. Why are you still discontent about it?" Judy glanced over at him with an inquiring look.
"Because of this!" Nick handed the sheet of paper he was reading to Judy and pointed his paw to a specific row.
"Frank Tailor's height is 207 centimeters, so what?"
"The victim Aaron Leep was about your height, but Frank Tailor is nearly fifty centimeters larger than me. If he had stabbed him, the angle would have been more tapered".
"Mh…" Judy considered Nick's thought.
"And another thing that bothers me: There are no defense wounds on Aaron Leep. Don't you think a rabbit would try to defend himself against an offender with a knife, especially when he has a conflict with him?"
"Don't forget, that he was heavily drunk. Maybe he couldn't defend himself".
"And the Meloxicam? He was bleeding to death within less than a minute, so he took them before. But he had no other injuries that needed pain killers, much less a strong one like Meloxicam".
"What are you indicating, Nick? That he knew that he would be hijacked and stabbed so he took them in advance? That's ridiculous".
"Not necessarily; consider the large angle of the wound channel". Judy took the paper knife again and held it at a 75-degree angle. Nick put his own paw on hers and turned it around, so now the paper knife was pointing to herself in the exact right position to match the sketches of the legal medicine. "See?"
Judy appeared irritated. "He stabbed himself to death?"
"Apparently, yes". Nick sat down with a smile on an undersized chair and Judy studied the report and sketches again. Then she slowly asked:
"And you think, that his son John found him, took the knife and put it in Frank Tailor's storage to incriminate him?" Judy sat on another chair beside him. "So now we are not talking about a zooicide, but a suicide and a follow-up concealment and a conspiracy to incriminate the Tailors?"
"Maybe, but that will not explain all those explosives. But either he stabbed himself or someone only slightly larger than him did".
There was a knock on the door and Evelin put her head through the door. "Lunch will be ready in about fifteen minutes, okay?"
"Okay, thanks Eve". Judy said with a quick smile but immediately put her nose back to the papers in front of her and Nick. Evelin closed the door behind herself and Nick murmured something.
"Did you say something?" Judy turned her head slightly in Nick's direction and the fox sighed quietly.
"You don't want to know, fluff". He smiled awry, but now Judy's ears straightened up and pointed in his direction, as always when she was at full attention.
"Now more than ever! What's the matter, Nick?"
"It's my olfactory sense again, nothing to worry about". Nick tried to talk himself out of this, but Judy was still gazing at him, waiting for an answer. "Well, okay! It's because of Evelin. She had … copulated with another rabbit recently". Nick's voice was almost down to a whisper. Judy snapped her eyes open and clapped her paws over her mouth, Nick just nodded with a smile. "Yeah, you bunnies are really great at multiplication". Judy boxed against his arm and snorted with laughter.
"Okay, I will chaff her about this after lunch!" she grinned and Nick grabbed his crutches.
"For all I care, but let's go to dinner before", He winked and at the same time his stomach was growling on command.
They took dinner together this time with all the others. Almost everyone had seen or talked with the fox before, so there was no awkward incident and Nick gave rave reviews to the food again. As it seems he was a big fan of the plain fare, only being used to the fast food he had in Zootopia.
After lunch, Judy and Nick distanced themselves rather quickly and poured over their case again until late in the evening. In the meantime, Ralph brought them a big tray with sandwiches and a pitcher with ice tea. It was already dark outside when Stu and Bonnie knocked and entered the room. Judy and Nick stretched themselves.
"What time is it?" Judy asked while rubbing her eyes and Nick yawned.
"It's time to call it a day, hon". Her mother answered smiling and handed each of them a small plate with a piece of carrot cake.
"Thanks Misses Hopps, this looks delicious!" Nick eagerly picked the cake up and ate a piece of it.
"It's Bonnie, my dear". She smiled and Stu added:
"And you can call me Stu, I'm feeling old being called Mister Hopps", he winked and Judy smiled, starting to eat her piece of cake. Judy's parents sat down on the other side of the table, shortly looking over the sheets of papers, sketches and photos; but it seemed that they were not too interested in those things.
"Are you making progress, darling?" Stu asked, and Judy raised her eyebrows.
"The going Is tough. But I guess, that's not what you wanted to talk about, is it?"
"Actually…" Bonnie started and looked at her husband with a smile.
"…we want to show you something", Stu finished the sentence, also smiling. Nick's ears straightened up and he looked at Judy somewhat alarmed. The young rabbit shrugged and stood up, as did her parents. Nick took his crutches and then he and Judy followed her parents through the hallway. It was the corridor leading to the biggest living room, if Nick remembered correctly, and sure enough they stood in front of the big double wing door. Bonnie and Stu each grabbed one doorknob and waited for Judy and Nick. Judy's ears were twitching and a quick smile flit on her lips.
When the two older rabbits finally opened the door, Nick and Judy were greeted by a few dozen other rabbits waiting inside. Some were giggling or murmuring when they saw Nick, but it seemed nearly everybody was smiling.
"This isn't the moment you are going to bear me down and skin me, is it?" Nick asked with played nonchalance, but Judy could hear his distinct, fast and nervous heartbeat.
"Strewth, no!" Stu said and hugged Nick firmly. "We all wanted to officially welcome you to the Hopps family".
"And we want to thank you again for saving little Amie", Bonnie added and the mentioned bunny was hopping across the room and jumped directly onto Nick's arm, beaming with happiness.
Judy grinned while most of her older siblings were shaking hands with Nick or even hugging him, giving him a heartfelt welcome. Evelin stood a bit aside and waved in her direction. "That was your idea, wasn't it?" Judy asked her younger sister smiling.
"I thought this was long overdue", Eve snickered.
"That you had time to organize this between helping Mom and being intimate with your boyfriend", Judy winked and Eve looked at her in shock.
"You are not supposed to know that!"
Judy wanted to reply something when she caught a glimpse of a photo on the wall, that was now hanging right beside her academy photo: The one with her and Nick together and a few of her siblings. Bonnie put a paw on Judy's shoulder, who turned her head around.
"We thought, this would be the best place for everyone to see, darling". Her mother smiled proudly.
"That's really endearing, Mom!" Judy smiled with tears in her eyes. "Thank you!"
"Don't mention it, my dear. But this is only a placeholder, don't forget!" the elderly rabbit winked at her daughter and Evelin grinned knowingly.
Later that evening Judy walked over to Nick again, who was now standing right before the wall with the picture of Judy and him. " Had enough of shaking hands already?" she snickered.
"More than enough, carrots", Nick sighed tired but also smiled in a good mood, putting his arm around his rabbit and looking at their picture.
"You know what that means, right?" Judy smirked slightly.
"That I am now officially allowed to date you?" Nick leaned over and kissed Judy between her ears. "And maybe even kiss you?"
Judy snickered and pointed with her nose to some other pictures. "Take a closer look at those pictures, maybe something will catch your eye", She winked and watched Nick look at the photos surrounding hers. After a while he said:
"I don't know most of those bunnies, but they seemed to be grouped by families".
"Yepp. By their own families. A photo of you being right beside mine is clearly a hint from my parents".
It took Nick a few moments to let that information sink in. Then, suddenly, his look changed to a somewhat puzzled one. Judy grinned and gave him a push with her hip.
The next morning Judy and Nick had a quick breakfast with the last dozen or so other rabbits that were a bit late. Bonnie and Evelin shooed them away so they could clean up the room and after a short walk around the house to get some fresh air, the two Zootopia Officers were sitting down on the same wooden bench beneath some trees where Judy found Nick yesterday morning.
"This case is really dodgy. Our evidence is ambiguous at best; and it seems our only suspect could not have done it", Judy sounded frustrated.
"I have an idea, carrots. But it might sound out-of-the-box", Nick said slowly.
"There seems to be nothing ordinary about this case, so … go on; I'm listening". She encouraged him, hopping from the bench and sitting in front of him in the grass.
"I got this idea because of the Nitrocellulose you found. It took me a while to remember, but I've worked with it previously".
"You've worked with explosives?" Judy raised her eyebrows.
"Not exactly, but I was a conjuror, and as always when it comes to magic tricks, distracting the audience is the most important part". Judy could visualize Nick as a drafty Thimblerigger and smiled.
"And you distracted them with explosives?" she grinned.
"Dumb bunny", He slyly winked. "Nitrocellulose is also known as flash paper. Do you know the magic trick where a magician folds a sheet of paper into a rose and with a quick movement of his hand there is a bright flash and he holds a real rose in his hands?"
"Of course…"
"Well, this isn't normal paper, but flash paper, or nitrocellulose as it is called technically. A small spark is enough for it to catch fire and it burns rather quickly in a bright flash. Therefore, flash paper. The audience is dazzled only for a very short moment, but that is enough for a conjuror to get the real rose from his sleeve, for example".
"Okay…" Judy thought for a moment. "But why was Aaron Leep working with flash paper?"
"That is the part where my idea gets off the beaten path. It reminds me of a trick, where you pull a trigger in a room without being there", Nick winked. "Aaron Leep has experimented with different kinds of easily flammable substances: Nitrocellulose, black powder, and this mixture of sulfur that could be found on quick matches. But disregarding the black powder, the other two aren't really explosives, only burn rather quickly".
"An Explosion is nothing more than a sudden and very fast …" Judy wanted to correct him, but Nick waved her objection aside.
"Yeah, I know, carrots! But that is not the point". They both grinned, but then Nick continued. "Black powder is too powerful, it leaves clearly visible traces. Also, it burns rather slow and hot enough to set other objects on fire. The sulfur mixture is a lot better, but it's also difficult to process".
"To Process? Into what?"
"Some kind of cord or thin rope".
"Okay, now you've definitely left me behind", Judy's ears drooped.
"Let's suppose you are an old, crabby rabbit, full of rage, hatred, jealousy and fear".
"I get the idea, Nick". Judy made an impatient gesture with her paw.
"You are tired of battling with your neighbor and tired of your life overall. There is a life insurance policy that could provide security for the only one that is still besteading you, but if you kill yourself it won't pay. So you not only decide to kill yourself, but you want to frame another one as guilty, and why not your long-time nemesis, your neighbor Frank Tailor. Perhaps it would be easier to mock a deadly accident, but bringing your enemy to jail is a much greater satisfaction. You just have to hustle him!"
"You decide to stab yourself with a kitchen knife that you stole out of the storage from the bakery. The lock of the window is no real barrier; as a carpenter you know exactly how such things are built. But using only the knife is not enough. It has to be hidden back in the storage room after the deadly act. You cannot ask anybody to assist you, but after the stabbing you will be too weak to bring it back. Also, the trail of blood would be perfidious. But you are really creative and think of a contraption to move the knife afterwards back to the storage room, then let all evidence of it vanish".
Judy was hanging on Nick's every word, but now she decided to interrupt him. "Until now this sounds very plausible, but how can you move the knife over the fence, back into the storage room, and then dispose of everything, all while you are bleeding to death?"
"This is the moment where we remember the flash paper. As you can fold an rose out of it, you can also twist a thin but robust enough cord. The kitchen knife has a hole at its grip to hang it onto your wall. Aaron Leep knotted the flash paper cord to the knife. With another cord of flash paper, that he put around the small hinge of the window like it was a pulley, he has a contraption to move the knife to the window. He takes some strong pain killers and drinks one or two bottles of his favorite booze. Then he goes to his backyard, prepares the towing device made of flash paper, stabs himself with the knife and sinks to the floor. He has no time to lose, he would be unconscious in less than a minute. He pulls on the cord, and the knife makes its way over the fence and when he feels some resistance he knows, that it is at the window. With his last ounce of strength, he ignites the flash paper cord that goes up in flames immediately without leaving any traces. Even the piece that was attached to the knife is gone and the crime weapon dropped into the storage room".
Nick finished his narration and Judy gazed at him in silence. After a few minutes, she said: "You were right. This idea sounds really out-of-the-box. It could be straight out of those Captain Basil novels!" she winked.
"Ouch, that hurts, carrots".
"Come on, this is ridiculous!" Judy snickered.
"At least it explains all of our evidence", Nick pouted.
"Maybe, but if we submit this story, we'll make a fool of ourselves". After a while she added. "But I agree with you, that Aaron Leep killed himself and, either with some contraption or with the help of an unknown mammal, placed the weapon of the crime into the storage room of his neighbor. It could not be Frank Tailor: neither the wounds fit, nor does the circumstances that Aaron Leep took a lot of pain killers without needing to and didn't defend himself or even move after being stabbed".
"That should be enough to exculpate Frank Tailor from suspicion".
"I think so", Judy smiled. "You and your curious ideas…"
"You mean curious ideas like a fox dating a rabbit?"
"Yepp, exactly those", She winked. "Okay, let's go back into the house. We have a report to write".
Many thanks to Sean Dalglish for his review and proofreading this chapter! (Mar 2017)